Deborah Poynton

Pictures

Pictures is published to accompany Deborah Poynton's exhibition of the same name, her sixth solo show at Stevenson. The monograph in fact takes up where Everything Matters left off, documenting Poynton's paintings since 2008/9 - including the 11-panel Arcadia (2010), and the exhibition Land of Cockaigne (2012), in addition to Pictures. Each body of work is introduced by a text written by the artist describing her approach to her work and underlying philosophy. She writes: 'I see my realism as a thin veil, literally a thin painted skin over the nothingness behind everything. We try to defend ourselves from this void. We fill our lives, with stuff, talk, distraction. We exert power over others to try to feel less powerless. My paintings are full of stuff but they do not feel particularly secure. I will face you with nakedness to communicate a longing and a terror of connection. And this is why realism is the only thing I want to do, because it seems so close. It is beautiful, sumptuous, and a complete illusion. It is utterly unavailable. You can't get in there. It is having and wanting at the same time.'